Thursday, February 2, 2012

Going Green

Jenny sat on her
porch and checked her watch again. If Harold didn’t show up soon, they were
going to miss the beginning of the movie. Just as she was about to text him,
she heard the sound of his cranky old pickup from down the road. Sure enough,
the truck roared into view and screeched to a stop in front of her house

“So sorry I’m
late,” said Harold, jumping out of the driver’s seat. “But I had a good reason.
I’ve been making my life greener and I’m saving the planet.”

“You? Green?” Jenny
stood with her arms crossed. She had learned to take his excuses with a grain
of salt.

“Absolutely,” he
said. “I read an article about how much electricity you save with those
spirally CFL bulbs, so I spent all afternoon replacing every light in my house.”

“Really?” Jenny
uncrossed her arms. “Didn’t you stock up on a huge supply of the old-style
light bulbs last year because you got such a great deal by buying them in bulk?”

“Yep. Had a few
hundred of them.” Harold walked to the back of his truck and pulled a large
empty cardboard box out of the bed. “Not
anymore, though. I got rid of them all and I’ve switched completely to
eco-friendly illumination. I know it cost me a pretty penny, but it’s worth it
for a cleaner planet. You always wanted me to be more environmentally conscious,
right?”

Jenny couldn’t
help smiling as she walked over and gave him a hug. “I’m so proud of you,
Harold. That’s a big step.”

“Thanks.” He
hugged her back. “I know it’s worth it. And I would have been here sooner, but I
had to make sure I disposed of the old bulbs properly. They’re now on their way
back to the earth, where they came from in the first place.”

“So you drove all
the way to the recycling center?”

“Nah, they’re
just the middleman,” he said.” I dumped them in the river.”